News Summary

Published: February 29, 2008

INTERNATIONALA3-13

Possible Defects Found At China Heparin Factory

Amid indications that more people may have died or been harmed after being given a brand of the blood thinner heparin, federal drug regulators said that they had found ''potential deficiencies'' at a Chinese plant that supplied much of the active ingredient for the drug.A1

Kenya Rivals Reach Deal

Kenya's rival leaders broke their tense standoff, agreeing to share power in a deal that may end the violence that has engulfed the nation. A1

Anti-Americanism in Pakistan

Anti-American feelings in Pakistan have reached a new pitch as outrage mounts over the Bush administration's continued backing of President Pervez Musharraf, despite the overwhelming rejection of his party by voters this month.A1

Eight suspected Islamic militants were killed in an attack on a house used as a training facility in Pakistan's tribal areas, a security official said.A6

U.N. Seen as Potential Target

A new panel investigating attacks on United Nations offices reported that the organization had to accept that in parts of the world it was no longer viewed as impartial and was therefore increasingly vulnerable.A13

NATIONALA11-17

Texas Plays Lead Role As Election Battleground

When Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton issued her gunslinger's invitation to Senator Barack Obama, challenging him to ''meet me in Texas,'' the question many people asked was: Which one? With polls showing that Mr. Obama has cut deeply into Mrs. Clinton's lead in Texas, the state has become a political battleground to a degree not witnessed in a generation. A1

Backlash Over Loan Program

As the Bush administration and Congress consider proposals to ease the home foreclosure crisis, local governments are lending money to strapped homeowners while confronting opposition. Seattle began a program offering loans of up to $5,000 to homeowners, causing outrage among some citizens. A1

Library Tussle in Boston

City Hall has informed the president of the Boston Public Library that it will take control of the library's 200 trust funds -- totaling about $54 million -- to better monitor how the money is spent. The library's president said the plan could have a chilling effect on donors and lead to the money being spent outside the library system. A11

A Prediction by McCain

Senator John McCain said he needed to convince the American people that the troop escalation in Iraq was working and that American casualties there would continue to decline. If he did not, he said, ''I lose'' the election. But then he pulled back from his blunt assessment. A14

Illinois Campus Reopens

Students at Northern Illinois University went back to class for the first time since a gunman burst into a lecture hall on Feb. 14 and killed five students and himself. In the array of reactions to the reopening, nearly everyone was left wondering what the lasting scars would be. A14

NEW YORK/REGIONB1-5

Absent Bloomberg '08, Mayor Will Try Activism

Michael R. Bloomberg, who ended his flirtation with a presidential run this week, said he would seek other ways to influence national politics. The New York mayor could find his voice drowned out by what experts believe will be an unprecedented amount of special-interest advertising this fall.B1

Developer Criticized

The inspector general of New Jersey accused a developer and a powerful law firm of bungling a billion-dollar project to clean up and redevelop landfills in the Meadowlands. B1

BUSINESS DAYC1-8

Split Over Homeowner Help

A month after President Bush and Democratic leaders hailed their bipartisan agreement on an economic stimulus plan, the two sides went to war over how to prevent widening damage from the housing crisis.C1

Business DigestC2

EDITORIALA22-23

Editorials: The global AIDS fight; rethinking help for children; time and time again; Senate kin and the campaign kitty.